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Florida Tech’s College of Aeronautics
will be able to spread new wings thanks
to a $1.5 million gift from the Emil
Buehler Trust. The gift will fund the
new Emil Buehler Center for Aviation
Education and Research at the Florida
Institute of Technology. The Buehler
Center will consist of a 12,000-square-foot
main building and a 14,000-square-foot
hangar, located on eight acres on the
south side of Melbourne International
Airport. The center will replace the
college’s current airport facility. Florida
Tech President Anthony J. Catanese
said the center will provide the university’s
College of Aeronautics faculty and students
an excellent facility for teaching, learning
and research.
“We’re delighted that the
Emil Buehler Trust has, in fact, placed
its trust
in us to build upon a strong tradition
of educating our remarkable students
in the College of Aeronautics,” said
Catanese. “This new center
will provide our aeronautics students
with
the strength of resources that our
students in engineering and the sciences
now take
for granted.”
Site preparation
for the new center will begin in
the fall of 2006, and
completion
is estimated for the spring of
2008. In addition to flight training,
the
building will house research centers
in human
factors and simulation research.
The building will also house a
fixed base
operation, providing students with
valuable hands-on opportunities
in the growing
aeronautics field. The building
is expected to serve 275 students each
semester.
“We expect this facility to provide
valuable training and research space
for the college,” said
College of Aeronautics Dean Michael
Karim. “The
support of the Emil Buehler Trust
will strengthen our ability to recruit
the
best and brightest students,
and help to further raise the university’s
profile within the aviation community.”
Florida
Tech’s Senior Vice President
for Advancement Thomas G. Fox
said the Buehler gift was an
important first step
in realizing the university’s
vision for the College of Aeronautics.
“We are grateful to the Buehler
Trust for their generosity,” said
Fox. “This
gift is a wonderful starting
point for our ongoing efforts to expand
the College
of Aeronautics’ facilities
and scholarship endowment.”
The
total cost of the facility
is expected to reach $2.5
million. Efforts
are
currently underway to secure
the remaining necessary
funding.
The Emil Buehler
Trust was established in 1984
to perpetuate
the memory
of Emil Buehler and his
commitment to
aviation
science and technology.
During his lifetime,
Buehler believed that the majesty and
mystery
of
flight was a
vision to be
shared. This vision drives
the continuing philanthropic
involvement
of the
Buehler Trust.
Jay Wilson |
Alumni
and Friends Can Leave Lasting Impression
Through Legacy Society Membership
When Linda Vopicka’s husband, Ronald ’68,
passed away in 2001, she decided on two
ways to honor his memory. To celebrate
his sense of whimsy and love of sports
cars, she refurbished his dream car, a
1967 Porsche 911 that had sat in their
garage for 23 years waiting for the perfect
time to be rebuilt. She gave the car to
her son when it was finished. To preserve
his legacy as an alumnus of Florida Institute
of Technology, she made a pledge in her
will to the university that he loved. Her
gift to the Legacy Society honors his memory
and will help future generations of students
to strive and achieve in their lifetimes
much as Ronald did in his.
Linda is not
alone in her gift to the Legacy Society.
Founded in 2004, the society has
grown to nearly a dozen members who have
pledged just under $6 million to Florida
Tech. Dr. Thomas G. Fox, senior vice
president for advancement, said the actual
number
of alumni and friends who have remembered
Florida Tech in their wills may be
much higher.
“We know that the
national average for alumni who give
to their alma mater via a will
bequest is 14 percent,” said
Fox. “Remarkably,
80 percent of those who leave a gift
for their alma mater don’t tell
the institution.”
If you plan
on leaving a gift to your alma mater
and wish to be noted as
a member
of the Legacy Society, please contact
Jay Wilson at jowilson@fit.edu or call
(321) 984-2974.
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